Point Reyes Light - October 25, 2001

Shoreline candidates tired of Braves issue

By Dave Mitchell

Four candidates vying for a pair of seats on the Shoreline school board sounded remarkably similar Monday night when asked about the two most contentious issues in the school district this past year.

A debate, which was sponsored by The Point Reyes Light and moderated by the Marin League of Women Voters, was held in Point Reyes Station’s Dance Palace Monday. And although the pennant games of the American and National baseball leagues were on TV at the same time, about 50 people showed up to question the two incumbents and two challengers.

In what was easily the most contentious issue during the past school year, trustees in February and March found themselves debating whether Tomales High’s mascot, the Braves, honored local Coast Miwok Indians or stereotyped all Indians.

With varying results, there have been disputes at schools around the country over whether using an ethnic group to symbolize sports teams shows respect or disrespect for the group. In Shoreline, the trustees’ debate ended with a compromise. The name Braves would be retained, but the image of a Great Plains Indian being used to symbolize the name would be changed.

‘Time to move on’

Asked if trustees should "revisit" the issue, challenger Tim Kehoe, a dairyman on Pierce Point, said, "I believe the issue was blown out of proportion. I was satisfied with the board decision. It’s time to move on."

Incumbent Jim Love, a county firefighter living in Point Reyes Station, said, "The process is not complete yet. The student council has some choices and have asked us to pick one....What came out of the last encounter was that we need to do a better job of education. We could have done better."

Challenger Phil Torres, a Fairfax policeman living in Point Reyes Station, said, "The Braves issue divided the community a great deal. We need to move on," he added, providing that whatever is done is good "for the children."

Incumbent Gus Conde, a Park Service ranger who lives near Chimney Rock in the Point Reyes National Seashore, said the issue for him was "about respect for all cultures, for all ethnicities...[Students] need to keep respect for one another."

Odd voting arrangement

The four candidates are running for two seats in Trustee Area 1, which includes Point Reyes Station, Inverness, and neighboring towns. However, residents throughout Shoreline School District – from Olema to Bodega Bay – get to vote in the Area 1 election. Responding to a question from Steve Perucchi of Bodega, incumbent Love explained, "It’s a unique situation. It was voted on in 1978 when the district was unified." Three trustees represent the area from Marshall south. The next trustee area extends north to the Tomales area. And the third trustee area extends from Tomales area to Bodega Bay.

As for residents throughout the district getting to vote on who will represent each trustee area, Love remarked, "Half of me thinks it’s a good idea. Half of me thinks it’s strange." However, he added, he is going to represent the interests of the whole district.

The need to represent students and families districtwide was echoed by challengers Torres and Kehoe. Incumbent Conde made the same point but acknowledged, "Each board member has a constituency....We have representatives from different areas."

Low 4th grade test scores at West Marin School

The second contentious issue this year was the low scores of West Marin School fourth graders on state tests.

Olema resident Lee Ormasa asked all four candidates whether they believe the school’s Latino students that are still learning English "dragged the results down."

Incumbent Torres emphatically disagreed, saying he did not "accept that any one individual or group is dragging the scores down."

Conde, on the other hand, said, "We do have a diversity issue." However, he added, "in the last two years, the biggest increase [in state-test scores] has been among our English-language learners. Our test scores are going up."

Challenger Kehoe agreed, "The Hispanics have tested better. I believe they are bringing the scores up." However, he criticized the tests themselves, saying that except for the high school "exit" tests, students taking the state tests don’t feel "a lot of motivation."

Incumbent Love said, "I know it is possible that in a district our size it doesn’t take very many low scores or high scores to affect the average. Maybe there is a focus group that needs attention."

Losing sleep over debate

The Light arranged for its Spanish-language columnist, Víctor Reyes, to provide simultaneous translations via electronic gear for any Latinos who needed help understanding the debate.

Only a few Latinos showed up, however, and of them, only one man needed help from Reyes. Impressing Reyes was the fact that the man sacrificed most of his night’s sleep to attend, leaving when only four hours remained before he was due back at work.

Board meeting attendance

Incumbents and challengers alike also acknowledged there can be problems attending night meetings. Incumbent Conde said he attends all the school board meetings he can and also shows up for student plays and musical events.

Incumbent Love, who missed several meetings last year, conceded that as a firefighter who occasionally has to work 24-hour shifts, "it is tough sometimes to attend all the meetings. In my 16 years [on the school board], I’ve probably missed a lot of meetings."

Challenger Torres said that while "I intend to attend all the meetings I can, I have a [police] job that in an emergency can keep me from attending."

Challenger Kehoe said he realizes that just going into town from Pierce Point is time consuming. "It’s an hour there and an hour back." Nonetheless, he said, he expected to attend most school board meetings.

A slightly sharp exchange

Moderator Anne Layzer at the end of the debate said she "appreciated the high tone of respect [the candidates] have shown to each other." Indeed, there was only one slightly sharp exchange, and it, in part, was between members of the audience.

Ed Liebig of Bodega Bay, who recruits for the United Technical Institue of Phoenix, asked for one-word answers to the question: "Do students need to attend college to be successful in life?"

Challenger Torres, a policeman who did not attend college, answered with a strong, "No." When Love replied the question was "tough to answer," Liebig cut him off.

Conde appeared to annoy Liebig when he said the question could not be answered with one word and that it is up to the district to provide students with the "opportunity" to go to college.

Before Kehoe could say much, audience member Lisa Doron of Inverness objected to the way Liebig’s question was phrased.

The non-college bound

Liebig then asked if the district owed a student that is not college bound the same commitment it owes a college-bound student.

Torres said the five-school district has to "teach everyone." Conde said, "We should be able to prepare students for what they want to do. They should understand what they are capable of doing. In the future, a four-year-degree is going to be the same as a high school education in the 1950s."

Kehoe agreed, "A college education is necessary in this world." However, he said he would like to see Tomales High restore some of the shop classes it had when he was a student there.

Love said, "A college education is required for many fields of endeavor, but in many it’s not." It is up to the district, he added, to "give every student [who wants to attend college] the opportunity to go."

Retaining students

While all four candidates agreed Shoreline scores on state tests are improving, Inverness resident Lila Puritan asked what can be done about the fact that many families living in Shoreline School District still send their children to schools outside the district.

Challenger Kehoe replied, "With test scores improving, I would hope more kids would be staying in the district." Nonetheless, he said, "there are always some that go to private schools if they can afford it."

Incumbent Love answered, "We serve a more diverse crowd than a private school would." However, he added, "that one issue is a strong signal to us....We don’t have to reinvent the wheel, just talk to other educational institutions."

Challenger Torres responded, "People who send their students to private schools probably went to private schools themselves." In addition, he said, sometimes another school has a special offering: "Some go to Marin Catholic because we don’t have swimming and diving."

Incumbent Conde said, "We need to come up with a curriculum that’s creative." He also said the district needs to get more publicity for its music and drama events.

Conde: In other matters, incumbent Conde described himself as a liaison to the Latino community, saying he has met with parents and students to encourage them to consider college educations. He stressed that he attends many school events and said the district could work more with local government agencies to improve environmental education.

Kehoe: Challenger Kehoe, who attended Inverness School, West Marin School, and Tomales High, noted he has three children in the district but is worried that – depending on the outcome of the Nov. 6 election – Shoreline could end up with no trustees having children in the district. He noted he is particularly pleased with Shoreline’s agricultural program, in which his daughter has learned public speaking, and he praised the fact that six students who graduated from Tomales High in June were accepted by the University of California.

Love: Incumbent Love said that as a Little League coach he has learned "the importance of being a good mentor for young people." He said that improving the district should not be limited to reading, writing, and arithmetic but should also include the fine arts and social responsibility.

Torres: Challenger Torres said that for 7.5 of his 9.5 years as a policeman, he has worked with four schools on drug-prevention and similar programs. He added that trustees can learn about day-to-day life within a school by talking with former students. And he said he has observed more and more Latino parents becoming involved in the school district. "What you will get from me," he said, "is a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy. You’re going to get someone who will gather facts."

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